University of Reading

Goodness behind a wheel: moral judgment in realistic traffic simulations featuring Agents, Deeds, and Consequences

Investigating how different stakeholders evaluate traffic situations is essential for aligning autonomous vehicle (AV) decision-making with common-sense moral expectations. Yet, empirical studies on traffic moral judgment remain limited and almost exclusively focused on dramatic...

Interconnected soil properties modulate compound hurricane-dust events that impact the Americas

Abstract In 2024, several Atlantic tropical cyclones encountered trans-Atlantic African dust, altering weather, air quality, and deposition across the Americas. Using state-of-the-art Earth system modeling, this study highlights that interconnected basic (mineralogy, texture) and...

Neoliberal housing and the health–poverty nexus: mapping of evidence using a systematic framework synthesis from Argentina and Chile

This systematic review responds to a critical gap in housing and health literature by examining how neoliberal housing policies impact low-income populations in Argentina and Chile. While existing reviews often link housing conditions to health outcomes, few consider the structur...

Land valuation, appraisal techniques and performance metrics

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between real estate development appraisal techniques and the financial performance metrics embedded within them, and how this relationship shapes land valuation outcomes. It demonstrates how commonly used appraisal practices can genera...

New Constraint on Future Ocean Heat Uptake Revealed by Considering Model Spread of Radiative Forcing

Abstract Radiative forcing is the fundamental driver of ocean heat uptake ; however, its contribution to intermodel spread in has not been quantified. We address this gap by leveraging a new set of CMIP6 experiments that diagnoses time‐varying for the first time in 11 models. Amo...

Small Community Businesses in Slums: A Perspective on Kenyan Slum Networks

ABSTRACT Despite extensive research on networks, the relational dimensions and structures cocreated by small community businesses and cooperative societies through everyday entrepreneurship in slum neighborhoods remain undertheorized. Drawing upon 1166 small community businesses,...

An observational perspective on precipitation efficiency of mesoscale convective systems over the Asian Monsoon Region

This study investigates the precipitation efficiency ( ε ) of tropical mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) using satellite-based precipitation rates (P˙) and reanalysis cloud, ice, and liquid water paths (CWP, IWP, LWP). We define ε as the ratio of P˙ to CWP, following Li et al....

The Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) contribution to CMIP7

Cloud processes constitute one of the key uncertainties for climate change projections. The fourth iteration of the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project, CFMIP4, contributes to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 7 (CMIP7), by providing a set of global climate...

Do sung speech and background noise affect sentence repetition in dyslexia?

Abstract Developmental dyslexia (DD) is typically associated with slow and laborious reading, but there is also evidence pointing to speech-in-noise perception difficulties and a deficit in rapid stimulus processing. We looked at sentence repetition in 56 adult participants, half...

Synoptic and large‐scale drivers of extreme precipitation events in the Himalayas

Abstract Extreme precipitation events (EPEs) in the Western Himalayas (WH) have significant cross‐sector impacts, yet understanding of their seasonal characteristics and synoptic drivers remains inadequate. This study presents an analysis of EPEs across the full annual cycle of t...

Rare events algorithm study of extreme double jet summers and their connection with heatwaves over the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract Several large scale circulation patterns have been identified in relation to extreme Northern Hemisphere summer heatwaves. Three main ones are a double jet over Eurasia, a positive phase of the summer northern annular mode, and a quasi-wave-3 geopotential height anomaly....

On the Timescales of Atmospheric Adjustments to Contrail Cirrus Formation

Abstract Condensation trails (contrails) that evolve into contrail cirrus may constitute the largest contribution to aviation's climate impact. However the strength and timescales of the adjustments of the upper atmospheric water budget to contrail formation are poorly known. Tha...

Harnessing snake venom cardiotoxins for antimicrobial peptide discovery

Abstract Snake venoms are a rich source of bioactive molecules with considerable potential for drug discovery. Cardiotoxins (CTXs) from cobras ( Naja spp.) are membrane-active venom proteins and promising templates for antimicrobial peptide development. Here, we combined two comp...

Expanded Genomic Diversity of Cacao Leafroll Virus Enables Improved Detection Using Multiplex RT-PCR

Cacao leafroll virus (CaLRV; species Polerovirus CALRV, family Solemoviridae), previously referred to as cacao polerovirus, infects cacao (Theobroma cacao) germplasm in the Americas. Screening of 287 cacao accessions with three published multiplex RT-PCR assays detected CaLRV in...

Radiation doses during extreme solar energetic particle events

Ions and electrons accelerated to high energies during flares and coronal mass ejections at the Sun may escape the solar atmosphere and, guided by the interplanetary magnetic fields, propagate through space to near-Earth locations. These Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) can be de...

Seasonal predictability of winter PM 2.5 pollution severity in India through a strong pollution–extratropical storm connection

India suffers from severe fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air pollution in winter that harms public health and disrupts economic activities. Seasonal prediction of pollution severity could facilitate proactive mitigation planning but is hindered by incomplete understanding of t...

Impact of high-resolution soil erodibility datasets on dust simulations in WRF-Chem with the GOCART scheme

Abstract. Mineral dust is a major atmospheric aerosol influencing climate, air quality, and human health through radiative and microphysical processes. The Iberian Peninsula is frequently affected by North African dust intrusions, leading to episodic PM10 exceedances that challen...

You don’t look sick: Invisible disability, moral injury, and organisational betrayal on the retail front-line

This article examines how the gap between invisible impairment and formal recognition shapes employment experiences. We draw on Jordan’s account as a front-line retail worker in Germany living with a chronic kidney condition that significantly affects work capacity but falls belo...

A comparison of the UK 's hot, dry summers of 1976 and 2025

Abstract Summer 2025 was the warmest so far recorded for the UK, and low precipitation amounts in preceding months and through the summer led to drought conditions in many areas of the UK. The hot, dry conditions prompted many comparisons with the infamous hot, dry summer of 1976...

Association between delusions, belief flexibility, and cognitive control in schizophrenia – a 6-month repeated-measures study

Abstract Background There is robust evidence that belief inflexibility is critical to the maintenance of delusion conviction. While cognitive control abilities (inhibitory control, mental set shifting, and working memory updating) are instrumental to information processing in gen...